ust as the path to a life of crime often begins with a small infraction and then another and another, so the road to rehabilitation is a series of steps back upward.
Along the way, the individual realizes more and more the importance of his relationships with other people, and the value of such concepts as trust, honesty, integrity and self-respect.
Typical of achievements regularly reported to the life-changing Criminon program from around the country is this from an inmate at the Arizona State Prison:
“Upon returning to my cell I decided to spend a minute talking to a friend in the hallway. This is considered out of bounds, an area we are not allowed to stand in. As I was finishing talking to my friend and started returning to my bunk, an officer saw me. I had not seen him.
“A little later, he came up to my bunk and said to me, ‘Did I see you in the hallway?’
“Well, I didn’t think anybody had seen me. My first thought was to say ‘No,’ and then I would not receive a ticket.1 But it is wrong to lie. At this time he asked me again, so I said, ‘Yes, I was there.’
“To my surprise, he said, ‘Because of your honesty you just saved yourself a ticket.’
“Honesty is really the best policy.
“I feel I can return to society a much better person. I have a duty to society to do what is right and to help others, and I owe it all to your course. Thank you very much for caring enough to help me change my life, and for giving me the tools to become that better person.
“I cannot find words enough to tell you how much your course has done for my life.”
1. Ticket: A warning for violation of prison rules.
